#zachevenesh

Standards.

Have them, set them, break them, raise them, break them again. Lather, rinse...

I am a man of standards. I am becoming a man of strong standards.

I don't always meet my own standards but strive to be better and stronger on every given day.

On Sunday, as part of my de-load week (I found this ironic) I will be trying my hand at the Navy BUD/S Physical Screening Test. The basic benchmark of the Navy Seals. 

I am doing this to get an idea of how truly elite these men really are. (The standards for the Seals and other elite Navy programs are in the link above.) This test is merely the beginning of their journey and far from the end of it. I want to know where I stand at my own starting line knowing that I have many miles to go before...

So I ask you:

What are your standards?

When was the last time you measured them?

What have you done to raise them?

Whose standards do you admire? 

I will be posting the results on here late Sunday good, bad, or otherwise. I am not sure how I will do. I am going to allow for running in tennis shoes as I don't have boots. I am going to do my best to adhere to the time standards as best I can. 

I am going to strive to raise the bar. And then raise it again.

How badly do you want it? 

How much are you willing to give up, give away, or share of yourself?

How much discomfort can you live with? 

I ask myself these questions daily. When I miss my alarm and I sleep a little longer, I wake up and I ask myself, "Do you really want this? It sure doesn't look like you do."

Success isn't about how you got there, whether it was easy or hard, it isn't about money or connections or skin color or hair color or religion or anything else but how much of yourself, your love, your skills, your glory you are willing to share with the world. 

I am here today. I woke up above ground. That is success. But that isn't the end of it. What I do with these hours given to me determines what success really looks like in my eyes. 

I trained yesterday with two of the strongest men on the planet. One who now channels his strength into the forging of other strong men and One who is using his strength to redefine a sport, not for himself but for his fellow weightlifters and his country, a soon to be Olympian. 

I was humbled by how little I knew, how weak I was compared to those around me, and how vast the mental strength of those two men truly was. 

But that realization meant one thing to me: these are the people I am supposed to be around, right now, today. I am exactly where I need to be. 

If I am the strongest man in the room physically, mentally, then I am in the wrong room. 

My success will come from being in places not where I am weaker than those around me but where my heart and tenacity can shine because I know I need to be better than I was yesterday. 

I am not a giant killer. I am not immortal. I am not the lone wolf.

Yet...

I have chosen to become a warrior. I have chosen to become the lion, the wolf, stalking my dreams and running till I capture them. 

I am not perfect. My methods are not correct. I am not as driven as I need to be. I am not there.

Yet...

But every morning, I make the commitment to being a warrior today. And becoming a warrior tomorrow. And the next day. 

I stumble, I fall, I am frustrated, I become angry, I experience fear. 

But the warrior ethos carries me through. 

They talk about the wolf running alone, standing alone, separate from the rest. This image holds true because so few are willing to step up to the standard, make the sacrifices necessary. 

I will run alone if I have to. I will run alone if I need to. 

But I will run with a pack if you want to step up. I will run with a full pack of warriors if you want to join. 

I welcome all warriors to join me. 

Get Strong. That's it. That's the game. Mentally, Emotionally. Physically.

It isn't the size or the cuts or how you look on the beach, those are just the perks.

It's about knowing what you are made of, being up for the challenge, ready when the door to opportunity opens. Life is a beautiful race between yourself and the lesser versions of you that you're outpacing. 

So get out ahead and enjoy the scenery a bit as you lap the old you. 

You can do it with just your body. You don't need anything else. The gentleman from Tee Major Fitness isn't bullshitting here. He is the real deal. Real strong. And he is using the one tool that we all have in common: the human body. 

What a marvel idea.